Remember
by Ispreno
Summary: Daine's insecurities take her away from what she knows as Home. This story is on hiatus while the plotline is being sorted out and other stories are being written.


**::Remember:: by Aisu / Ispreno :: Chapter One ::**

Veralidaine Sarrasi stood by the large window that overlooked the endless green of the Royal Forest. The bird's eye view from the tower she was on enabled her to see nearly every going on in the palace courtyard directly down below, but that wasn't what she was doing. Surprisingly, she was thinking.

The thoughts ran through her head were like rushing torrents of freshwater tumbling down a steep incline, bubbling and swirling in her head, eroding her consciousness. Giving her no rest.

Daine moaned, and clutched her head. Looking out of the window, watching the hustle and bustle of the people below usually gave her a sense of at ease. That the world was still going round. That it wasn't going to stop without one tiny insignificant Wildmage.

She straightened her back with a start. Of course not… What was she thinking?!

Silence reigned in the large room for a moment before Daine gave an almost inaudible sigh. Her thoughts seem to be running wild even without her knowing it. A wry smile spread formed on her lips as she brought up a hand to brush an unruly lock from her face.

The soft feel of satin that caressed her face startled her, before she remembered that she was wearing it. Delicate satin gloves encased her arms from elbow down, the silky white material forming a contrast with her lightly tanned skin. Similar material flared from her waist, flowing down to sweep around her ankles. Waist up, she wore a tight eggshell-blue bodice which moulded and reshaped her such that curves showed in the right places, flattering her figure to no end.

She moved from the window to a full-length mirror not far away, her dainty blue slippers barely creating a sound on the smooth oak floor. There in her reflection, she saw, herself, in all her wedding finery.

Yes, she was getting married, to her teacher and love of her life Numair Salmalín no less. But she was feeling… hesitant. Why she felt that way, she herself was unsure. Either that, or she was refusing to admit them to herself.

!!-!!

In the vast expanse of stone floor that was the Great Hall, a black-robe mage was desperately being calmed down by company that consisted of a violet-eyed knight, a brown-haired baron, a blue-clad king and… a flock of sparrows, a dragon, one pony, three chickens, six geese and a pig.

…Right.

Alanna tapped her fingertips lightly on her cheek as she watched Numair shoo away yet again a couple of sparrows which had landed on his robes and continue rummaging within them for the pair of eternity rings which he was trying so hard to locate. She looked on as he went through his pockets once more, then let his arms flop to his sides as he sighed.

"I can't find them!" Numair sighed as he reached a hand up to run his fingers through his tousled black mane, causing two sparrows to jump away in fright. He glared at the two unwelcome occupants of his hair, for a moment wondering if Daine would notice if he blasted them.

A shrill whistle pierced the air as a pair of jaws closed on the sleeve of Numair's robe. He dropped his eyes to the dragon Skysong, who looked at him disapprovingly. He looked up at the others around him, and was astonished to find all of them eyeing him with the same distaste that Kit had in her eyes.

"What did I do!?" He exploded.

"Nothing much really, it's just that you looked as though you were about to blast all the little feathered friends of Daine's into tiny, minute little pieces for a moment," George said dryly as he pointed to the black crackling fire surrounding his right hand, the sleeve of which was still firmly in Kit's mouth.

"Oh." The fire disappeared as quickly as it has materialized, and Kit freed the soggy sleeve from her mouth, tutting with small shakes of her head as she waddled out of sight.

"Numair, you've really got to relax," Jonathan, ruler of Tortall and a close friend of the lanky mage, finally spoke. He knew weddings made one nervy and all that, but this was too much.

"Jonathan, coming from you, that's really something," Alanna laughed as she spoke. She could still remember the look on Jonathan's face when Raoul told him he had misplaced his wedding rings. Priceless.

Jonathan coughed awkwardly, then pretending to take no notice of the faces Alanna was pulling at him, he turned back to Numair, who had seated himself on one of the pews along the red carpet leading up to the dais.

"Alright, so I'm not the best one to say it, but trust me, you'll enjoy it better if you relax," Jonathan watched as Numair nodded his head, a smile lighting his boyish features for the first time in the whole morning. As he turned to leave, Numair suddenly stood up.

"Your Majesty, I've been meaning to show you this, but the wedding preparations had been keeping me busy," He said as he walked towards Jonathan, producing a small palm-sized glass globe from within his clothes which he then handed to Jonathan.

"This is?" The object that had been a glittering black before in Numair's hand had turned into a dull hue of grey in Jonathan's. He let a bit of his Gift wash over the small trinket, and was amazed to find that it was spelled with serious magic.

"It's a type of communication device, similar to our method of speaking through spelled flames, except that it's portable, and there's absolutely no risk in that no one can-" Numair spoke breathlessly, as though a small child showing off his new toy for the first time.

"-intercept the message?" Alanna had came up noiselessly next to them, a feat given the fact that she was wearing a full set of dresses that rustled and whispered as she moved.

Everyone knew that speaking through bespelled fires always carried a risk – that enemy mages may be able to cut into, and listen on their conversation. Not that Numair had come up with a new gadget, there was no doubt it was going to be very helpful to them, given the fact that not all was peaceful in the kingdom of Tortall right now.

"That's right. These globes, they come in pairs, and you can speak directly to the other person holding the other one, and only that person, and no one else, will be able to hear whatever you are saying, since the devices will be spelled for their use only-"

"But isn't that a drawback? Seeing that we may need to communicate with more than one person in the course of the battle, won't it mean that we'll need to carry dozens of these?" George caught the globe from Jonathan, and was surprised at its weight. "Wow, they weigh a lot for their size."

"Yeah, but I'm working on that problem right now," Numair took the globe back from George. Almost immediately, it regained its obsidian blackness, and from within, a muted red light began flashing.

"Someone's calling?" Alanna enquired, looking curiously at the little object.

Numair nodded. "The other one's with Daine. I had to spell it specially for her, since she doesn't use the Gift, but wild magic. It took quite a bit of work though." A smile crept across his lips as he spoke, much to the amusement of his friends.

One by one, Alanna and company strayed away to tend to the guests who were being announced into the hall, leaving Numair alone to "whisper sweet-nothings to his bride," Alanna had said with a smirk. The animals too quietly waddled, crawled, or flew out of the hall, causing no trouble to anyone at all. With the exception of Cloud, Daine's faithful pony, who stood very still, head cocked to the side as though listening.

Numair looked at the flashing globe in his hand for a moment, then let some of his Gift wash over it, immediately opening their communication channel.

"Daine?" Her image didn't show up on the globe, and Numair immediately made a mental note to improve on it.

There was silence for a moment, then Daine spoke. "Numair… I… I've got something to tell you…"

"What is it? It's already almost time for the wedding…don't tell me, you're planning to back out…?" Numair said teasingly. If Daine could see him, he would have been a picture of happiness, eager for the arrival of his wedding.

A tear trickled down her cheek as she struggled to speak. She **could see him, his happiness… his radiant smile… "Numair…"**

"Dain-" A huge commotion drew Numair's attention from the glass ball. He turned, and saw Cloud rearing back on her hind legs, bearing down on Alanna, who was saved in the nick of time by Jonathan. As the Gifted raised their hands to throw a Stunning spell at the bucking animal, all of a sudden there was a shrill whistle, and Kit materialized on Cloud's back, the bold glint in her eyes as though daring the spell-casters to Stun her. Then, with an angry whinny, Cloud turned, and charged out of the hall.

"Daine! Cloud and Kit, they just..." Numair began in agitation, but Daine's next words left his words unspoken in his throat.

"I know. I just told them my decision."

"What decision…?" Numair was almost afraid to speak. Was she…

"Numair, I'm not marrying you."


End file.
